BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

museumofdave Imagine handing a studio executive a script in which your hero falls out of the open window of an airplane while chasing a whiskey bottle and lands atop a mountain where Mrs. Hemoglobin lives with her daughter (who has never seen a man) and her pet gorilla...this is part of a script which Fields hands to Director Franklin Pangborn in the film (and which we see enacted) and the same script Fields himself wrote under the pseudonym of Otis Criblecoblis.If zany, off-the-wall, slightly surreal humor appeals to you (mixed with some irrelevant musical numbers from Gloria Jean that Universal probably forced Fields to include as part of his financing bargain), this cinematic oddity may be your ideal afternoon of fun--half the best lines are half-thrown away by Fields, so it pays to listen closely and enjoy The Great Man towards the end of his career, unfettered by convention and often very funny. No one has ever approached the distinctive comic style of this off-the-wall social critic, and with political correctness guiding most studio fare, it is doubtful that anyone will.

rcraig62 There are still moments of greatness in "Never Give A Sucker An Even Break", but, by this time, they are few and far between. Fields is great in an early sequence arguing with a fat diner waitress, and his jumping out the airplane window is priceless. But I think even Fields must have known he'd had it by this point, and the most telling sign is the inclusion (at Fields' insistence) of the dreadful Gloria Jean. When heavy hitters like Fields insist on being portrayed on-screen as 'lovable', the game's over. If I never hear her insipid Bavarian yodeling again, it'll be too soon. Some people will love the utter insanity of the movie script that Fields tries to pitch to Hollywood hotshot Franklin Pangborn; I thought it dragged on a bit. A sometimes funny, but kind of sad epitaph to one of the world's greatest comedians. R.I.P. Uncle Bill!

jotix100 W.C. Fields was a pioneer of the American cinema. As such, he was a true original who not only acted, but also wrote most of the material for his films. Mr. Fields left an important body of work for us to watch, laugh and admire.His "Never Give a Sucker an Even Break" was his last film. The film, although a bit dated, still has some sparks thanks to Mr. Fields, playing the Uncle Bill of the story. The film, directed by Edward C. Cline, still has a lot of laughs.The film is a satire about the movie industry that Mr. Fields knew so well. Mr. Fields takes us behind the cameras to show us the craziness that is associated with making films. Of course, it is somewhat exaggerated as we don't believe what goes on at some of the Esoteric Studios.Aside from Mr. Fields, Gloria Jean plays his niece, the sweet voiced girl appearing in one of the films in production. Also, Leon Errol, Margaret Dumont and some old pros are seen doing their best.

ElenaP-3 One of the most refreshingly silly films that ever came out of Hollywood. It's just a bit sad to note that it's W.C.'s last, but his acerbic wit and inventiveness is always on display. Note that very funny exchange with him and the over-sized waitress (Jody Gilbert), his foil in timing and delivery. "There's something very big about you." "Why, thank you, my dear". Her retort: "It's your nose!". His sotto voce response, when she turns around and starts cleaning the counter: "There's something very big about YOU, too!" Gloria Jean is sweet as his niece who takes him, foibles and all. Her style is much like Deanna Durbin's (another teen actress/singer of the time), and perhaps she was being groomed to be her rival. Her scenes with the prissy producer (portrayed by prissy actor), Franklin Pangborn, show some normalcy in the midst of the chaos on the set. And anyone who ever thought that the regal Margaret Dumont, the Marx Brothers' favorite comic target, never had a sense of humor, need only see her as Mrs. Hemoglobin, living in a mythical country without men. Made up with a severe hairstyle and Groucho-esquire eyebrows, she allows herself to look and act silly with the best of them, and has fun doing so. If you enjoy Fields (and I always have), as a one-of-a-kind talent - as versatile in drama (ie: "David Copperfield"), as in comedic mayhem, then you're bound to enjoy this film for its sheer silliness as a much-needed stress breaker.